Women's Hockey | 10/31/2019 10:03:00 AM

PITTSBURGH -- Returning home from its first trip of the season, the Robert Morris University women's hockey team begins its third consecutive College Hockey America regular-season title defense this weekend, when in-state rival Penn State pays its annual visit.

RV ROBERT MORRIS (2-5-1) 
vs. PENN STATE (3-4-3)
Friday, Nov. 1 at 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 2 at 3:05 p.m.
RMU Island Sports Center
LIVE VIDEO ($) | LIVE STATS 

CATCHING UP
The Colonials ran into tough resistance last weekend on the road, dropping a pair of regulation decisions to No. 5 Cornell in Ithaca, New York. Goalies Raygan Kirk (26 saves) and Arielle DeSmet (27 saves) did well to hold off the Big Red early in both games, but RMU's potent attack was shut out in back-to-back games for the first time since January 2010. 

This weekend, Robert Morris returns to league play, after going 13-4-3 in the CHA last season to earn its third consecutive regular-season title. The Colonials have posted a 42-10-8 record (.767 points percentage) in league over the past three seasons, a run that includes the program's first trip to the NCAA tournament in 2017.

HISTORY LESSON
The Colonials faced Penn State five times last season, winning four and tying one while outscoring the Nittany Lions 16-7. However, the final of those matchups, in the CHA semifinal round at Buffalo's HarborCenter, was the most competitive. RMU prevailed 2-1, with senior Sarah Quaranta notching the winning goal early in the third period, sending RMU to the CHA final for the third straight season.

All time, RMU has a 20-4-6 record against PSU, which started its program in the 2012-13 season. The Colonials have gotten at least a point out of their past 11 games against the Nits, going 7-0-4 over that span. They've also won their past three home matchups with Penn State.

OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Like RMU, Penn State has challenged itself in non-league play, taking on No. 1 Wisconsin and No. 10 Boston University. Although they lost all four of those ranked matchups, the Nittany Lions put together a 3-0-1 streak this month. Senior forward Katie McMIllan paces PSU in assists (five) and points (eight), while junior Chantal Burke has seen the bulk of the action in net, boasting a .923 save percentage and a 3-2-2 record.

Third-year bench boss Jeff Kampersal is in his 24th season coaching NCAA Division I pucks, with the first 21 of those seasons spent at his alma mater, Princeton. Since his takeover of the Lions program, Penn State has a combined record of 26-33-23. Over his career, Kampersal has accrued the seventh-most coaching victories in the history of women's college hockey, with 353.

KNOW BOBBY MO
• Although the Colonials barely fell out of the USCHO and USA Hockey Magazine top-10 national polls this week, they've already spent two weeks ranked by both surveys, reaching a high of No. 8 in the Oct. 21 USCHO poll. Robert Morris has at least received votes every week in both polls, ranking as the highest CHA team in each one of those.

• The Colonials return 16 players from their latest championship outfit, headlined by Gebhard, RMU's No. 2 all-time leading scorer with 149 career points. Gebhard is on pace to challenge last year's program-record total of 51 points, as she has already piled up 14 points (6g, 8a) through eight games. With 26 regular-season games left, the Saskatchewan native is 32 points shy of Brittany Howard's RMU record of 181 points.

• In addition to All-CHA First Team representative Gebhard, the Colonials welcome back juniors Lexi Templeman and Curlett, both of whom were named to the All-CHA Second Team last spring. Templeman, who piled up 26 assists last season, already has 10 in the opening eight games this season. Curlett, meanwhile, is nearly halfway to last year's total of 21 points, notching five goals and assisting on five others so far.

• The RMU power play has proven to be especially dynamic early, converting on 12 of 47 opportunities for a 25.5 percent success rate that ranks sixth of 41 Division I teams. Gebhard (2g, 7a) has factored in on nine of those PPGs, while Templeman (1g, 6a) and Curlett (5g, 2a) have taken part in seven. Also excelling: Sophomore Michaela Boyle (six power-play points) and junior defender Emilie Harley (two PP assists).

• The Colonials welcome seven newcomers, five of them forwards. Redshirt sophomore Boyle transfers to RMU from Clarkson University, where she helped the Golden Knights to the 2018 national title. Joelle Fiala (Saskatchewan), Marah Wagner (British Columbia) and Maggy Burbidge (Nova Scotia) supplement the forwards, while Anna Fairman (Michigan) and Allyson Hebert (Ontario) add to the blue line.

• Boyle has seven points (five goals) in her first six RMU games, but she hasn't been the only fresh face to score early. Fiala, Hebert and Burbidge each earned their first points (all assists) during the two-game sweep of Union, while Wagner (Minnesota) and Burbidge (Clarkson) earned their first goals against ranked foes. Burbidge leads RMU freshmen with three points (1g, 2a), while Fiala has two assists.

• In goal, freshman Raygan Kirk joins returners Arielle DeSmet and Molly Singewald. DeSmet, a sophomore from Vermont, posted a .920 save percentage in 10 appearances last season. Kirk, a Manitoban, won MVP for Team Canada in the 2019 World Under-18 World Championship. Both Kirk (.887 SV% in three starts) and DeSmet (.892, one shutout in five starts) have played extensively this season. 

• According to a preseason coaches poll, the Colonials were picked to finish second in the six-team CHA, with Mercyhurst getting the top spot. RMU, which received one first-place vote, has finished in the top half of the CHA in seven of the past eight seasons. The Colonials were also heard from in the first USCHO national poll of 2019-20, receiving one 10th-place vote for an unofficial standing of 13th in the survey.

• Once again, RMU will boast a robust non-conference schedule to go with its 20-game CHA slate. Starting with October showdowns against No. 2 Minnesota, No. 4 Clarkson and No. 5 Cornell, the Colonials will challenge each of the four national semifinalists from last spring. To cap it off, defending national champ Wisconsin will be the opponent Jan. 4 in Cranberry Township, Pa.

• Speaking of the holiday season, RMU is teaming up with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins for a first-of-its-kind four-team tournament to take place Jan. 4-5 at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township: The Battle at the Burgh. In addition to Wisconsin, the Colonials will welcome Northeastern and Colgate -- both of which finished in the USCHO top 10 last spring.

• Familiar faces return behind the bench, led by ninth-year bench boss Paul Colontino. He's assisted by associate head coach Logan Bittle '08, who enters his 10th season behind the bench after four years playing for the RMU men's team. Fellow alum Jen Kindret '13 joins the staff as an assistant; the former forward played under Colontino and Bittle at the end of her tenure a Colonial.

THE COLONTINO FILE
Returning for his ninth season in charge of the Colonials, Colontino boasted an overall record of 149-94-36 in his first eight seasons. In his first year running the team, RMU claimed its first championship of any kind, the 2012 CHA tournament title, while improving by 13 victories. A two-time CHA Coach of the Year and a one-time USCHO National Coach of the Year, Colontino was also behind two 24-win seasons (2013-14, 2016-17) and the program's first NCAA tournament berth, in 2017.

Before coming to Robert Morris, Colontino had served as associate head coach at Mercyhurst since 2006. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach with the women's team at the University of North Dakota for four years. Colontino began his coaching career as an assistant with Mercyhurst in 2000. As a player at Mercyhurst, Colontino was the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) co-Defensive Player of the Year as a senior and an All-MAAC First Team selection.

HONOR ROLL
The following Colonials have been honored by College Hockey America for their performances this season ...
Jaycee Gebhard - Player of the Week (Sept. 30)
Arielle DeSmet - Goaltender of the Week (Sept. 30)
Raygan Kirk - Rookie of the Week (Sept. 30)
Emily Curlett - Player of the Week (Oct. 14, Oct. 21)

MARCH WITH THE COLONIALS
In addition to reports and videos on RMUColonials.com, check out Twitter and Instagram for news and updates throughout the season.

NEXT UP
The Colonials will hit the road for the first time in CHA play, taking on Lindenwood in Wentzville, Missouri, on Nov. 8-9.